U of M News Wire: March 22, 2007

 
 
The temps, they are a-changin'
With winter losing its bite, life in the Frozen North just isn't the same

By Deane Morrison
U of M News Wire
 
When Minnesota ice fishing tournaments are canceled for lack of ice, you know it was a mild winter-again. Mark Seeley, a University meteorologist and state climate history expert, says the change in winter is for real.
 
"Although we can always find warm winters, we can't find a string like the last nine," says Seeley, author of Minnesota Weather Almanac. The changes are in line with predictions by models of global warming.
 
Based on average temperatures, January 2006 was the warmest since 1846, and December 2006 tied for fourth warmest in state history. That's a far cry from December 1983, the coldest of the 20th century. The relative heat wave means we're burning less fossil fuel in our furnaces, too. "At present energy prices, some people would be paying a monthly heating bill equivalent to a mortgage payment" if December 1983 were to repeat itself, Seeley figures.
 
Municipalities are spending less on snow removal, and schools and businesses close less often. The weather also means a longer construction season for contractors, a longer biking season, and even winter golfing.
 
The lack of snow is in part a cause, as well as an effect, of our warm winters.
 
"You don't get record setting warm winters with snow," says Seeley. Snow reflects solar radiation, helping the air around it stay cold. But bare ground soaks up the heat, warms the air, and contributes to further snowmelt. As more northern land goes snow-free in winter, it helps accelerate global warming.
 
As temperatures rise, Minnesota may be seeing more freezing rain and sleet. And no longer is March the snowiest month; with more March precipitation falling as rain, January has taken the top spot.
 
"This can help alleviate the spring snowmelt effect," says Seeley, referring to the flooding that follows a large, rapid snowmelt.
 
Records begun in 1895 show that 10 of the 20 warmest November-March intervals have occurred since 1981. Higher minimum temperatures, which usually occur at night, seem most responsible. In his book, Seeley writes that southeastern Minnesota counties' average daily minimum for February rose from 8.2 F for 1951-1980 to 11.7 F for 1971-2000.
 
"That's a change of 3.5 degrees, large in comparison to changes in maximum temperatures, which are typically just a few tenths of a degree," he writes.
 
This small change has hurt ski operations, outdoor hockey, and skating. Even car mechanics are feeling the heat.
 
"My mechanic said that during the '70s and '80s, a huge part of his income was installation of engine block heaters," recalls Seeley. "They've all but disappeared."
 
 
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Once rare in Minnesota, opossums have been rapidly moving north
 
By Deane Morrison
U of M News Wire

The nonhuman residents of Minnesota change with the climate
As winters shrink and the climate warms up, state populations of many animals and plants are shifting:
 
Opossums -- North America's only marsupial has been moving rapidly north, turning up in roadkills throughout the Upper Midwest.
 
Birds -- Cardinals, once unseen in Minnesota, now live on the North Shore and in Canada. The Carolinawren and the blue-gray gnatcatcher have also made themselves at home in our state. Loons may be migrating back earlier, and may – possibly -- stick around if lakes remain ice-free. But, says the American Bird Conservancy, climate change could rob Minnesota of 36 bird species while adding only five. Many of the losses will be warblers of the northern forests, which are threatened by climate change and other factors.
 
Insects -- More bean leaf beetles and European corn borers will survive our winters, which bodes more damage to soybean and corn crops.
 
Gardeners may wonder if plants adapted to USDA hardiness zone 5 can now be grown in parts of Minnesota long rated zone 4. The answer is unclear. If you want to experiment with zone 5-rated plants, go ahead, but try an inexpensive perennial such as a Korean spice viburnum, forsythia, peony, or iris. Don't risk $300 on a Japanese maple or fruit tree. The USDA hardiness zones are undergoing revision.
 
 
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Growing Concerns
A parenting question-and-answer column with Dr. Martha Erickson of the University of Minnesota

Question: We recently watched a video of when my now 4-year-old daughter was the age of our 20-month-old son. It was amazing how much more verbal she was at his age. She would say "No, Mommy!" and could also sing most of "Happy Birthday to You." My son isn't nearly as verbal. His version of "no" is "uh-uh." I don't think we've read as much to our son as we did to our daughter, although now his bedtime routine includes books. I'm afraid he may have suffered from being the second child.  Should I worry?  Have I done something wrong and if so what can I do to fix it?
 
Answer: You’re not the first parents to worry that a second child lags behind the developmental pace of the firstborn. Most of us find that, with subsequent children, we never quite can match that total, undivided attention we gave to our first baby. But that doesn’t mean that a second child’s slower pace of development is the result of parental neglect. Even within the same family, each child is unique and develops at his or her own individual pace. Many times a child’s developmental rate varies across different domains. For example, a child may seem advanced in verbal skills, but slower in developing motor skills -- or vice versa.  Sometimes a second child in the family might develop spoken language more slowly because big brother or big sister speaks for them -- or doesn’t let them get a word in edgewise!  And some children just seem to have a personality that leads them to listen and absorb for many months, then suddenly begin speaking in complete sentences.  
 
Whatever the reason for your son’s slower pace of language development, it’s not at all uncommon for a 20-month-old to not have a large vocabulary. At this tender age, your son still has many opportunities to benefit from your love, attention and stimulation. Here are some of the things to focus on as you gently support his growth and learning:
 
•  Talk to your son as you go through your daily activities together. Describe what he’s doing, seeing, touching and tasting.  
 
•  Use music or rhymes to help your son discover the joy of language. Clap your hands, dance around the room, and repeat the same songs until he becomes familiar with them. Before long he’ll probably be able to fill in the blank if you leave out the last word of a familiar line.
 
•  Continue to make time to read with your son each day. Take your cues from him, letting him choose his favorite picture stories and reading only as long as he’s interested.  
 
•  Follow his interests, finding stories and language-based activities that focus on things he likes. For example, if he’s crazy about trains or puppies or clowns, work those into your games and reading time.
 
•  Give him chances to use words to express his choices. For example, in the morning put out two shirts and ask him to choose the blue one or the red one. Or encourage him to tell you if he wants cereal or toast for breakfast. Even if he can’t say the words yet, learning to understand the question is a big part of language development.
 
Certainly if you see other signs that your son is lagging developmentally -- or if you see no sign of progress in spoken language over the next few months -– talk to your pediatrician and request a developmental screening.  But for now, focus on providing a rich language environment for your son and watch how he responds. Hopefully soon he’ll master many words, including that powerful word “no.” Then you may be longing for the good old days when he didn’t know how to say it!